Best Food Tips

Fruity Sangria

admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 09:29:18 +0000

o 2 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced, or 2 cups frozen unsweetened peach slices, thawed
o 1 cup sliced strawberries or frozen unsweetened whole strawberries, thawed
o 1 orange, halved and thinly sliced
o 1 lemon or lime, sliced
o 1 1-liter bottle carbonated water (club soda), chilled
o 2 cups dry white wine, chilled
o 1/2 cup orange juice, chilled
o 1/2 cup low-calorie cranberry juice, chilled

Directions

Place peach slices, strawberries, orange slices, and lemon or lime slices in a large punch bowl. Pour carbonated water over fruit; add wine, orange juice, and cranberry juice. Stir gently to combine.

To serve, ladle some of the fruit into glasses; ladle wine mixture over fruit. Makes 14 (6-ounce) servings.

Make-Ahead Tip: Slice strawberries, orange, and lemon or lime; cover and chill up to 4 hours.

Potato Salad

admin — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 09:15:47 +0000

o 5 pounds Russet potatoes (about 8 medium Russets)
o 1 1/2 cups real mayonnaise (NOT miracle whip)
o 4 tablespoons prepared mustard (regular, dijon or a mixture of both)
o 3 whole green onions (sliced up to the darkest green part)
o 8 whole small sweet pickles
o 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more, to taste)
o 1/2 teaspoon paprika
o 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
o 4 whole hard boiled eggs
o fresh dill, chopped, to taste (may sub for pickles as well if you don’t like that taste)

Directions

Hard boil eggs several days before; keep in fridge.

Cut potatoes in halves or thirds, then boil until fork tender. Drain. Mash potatoes or run them through a ricer or food mill to make them extra fluffy. Fold potatoes together with mayonnaise, mustard, green onions, salt, pepper, and other seasonings you like. Fold in pickles and eggs, then taste for seasonings, adding more salt, mustard, or mayo as needed. You can also splash in juice from the pickle jar if salad needs a little moisture. Generously sprinkle dill over the top.

Reuben Dogs

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:56:45 +0000

o 4 all-beef big franks
o 4 tsp spicy brown mustard
o 12 slices deli pastrami
o 4 sourdough French rolls halved horizontally and toasted
o 4 slices Swiss cheese cut in half diagonally
o 1 cup prepared sauerkraut
o Thousand Island salad dressing

Directions

Set up grill for direct cooking over medium heat (see page ??). Oil grate when ready to start cooking. Spread each frank on all sides with 1 teaspoon mustard. Wrap three slices of the pastrami around each frank.

Grill pastrami-wrapped franks on hot oiled grill. Cook for 12 to 16 minutes or until heated through turning frequently. Serve franks hot on toasted French rolls with sliced cheese and sauerkraut. Top with Thousand Island salad dressing.

INDOOR METHOD: Prepare franks as directed. Preheat broiler. Place franks on a wire rack over a foil-lined baking sheet or broiler pan. Cook 6 to 8 inches from heat source for 12 to 16 minutes turning frequently. Serve as directed.

No-Bake Mini Heart Cakes

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:23:25 +0000

o One 16-oz frozen poundcake, not thawed
o Icing
o 51/4 cups (about 11/2 lb) confectioners’ sugar
o 1/2 cup milk
o 3 Tbsp light corn syrup
o 2 tsp almond or vanilla extract
o Red liquid or paste (icing) food color
o Decorations: tubes of white, red and pink decorating icing, each fitted with round piping tip; red crystal sugar; and tiny candy hearts (available in many supermarkets, crafts stores and
o cake-decorating and party-supply shops)

Directions

Have ready 2-in. and/or 21/2-in. heart-shape metal cookie cutters.

Using a long, sharp knife, trim rounded hump off poundcake so top is flat. Trim crust off sides. Slice cake horizontally in half. Cut hearts from each half.

Put hearts 11/2 in. apart on a wire rack set on wax paper to catch drips.

Icing: Stir ingredients, except food color, in a bowl until smooth and as thin as maple syrup. Divide between 2 bowls; cover 1 bowl with plastic wrap. Tint icing in other bowl pink.

Spoon pink icing over half the cakes, completely covering tops and sides. Stir drips on wax paper into icing in bowl; cover airtight. Let icing set 30 minutes. Meanwhile repeat with white icing on rest of cakes.

Thin remaining pink and white icings with a little water as needed; give cakes a second coat. Let set at least 1 hour.

To decorate: With decorating icing, pipe designs and words on cakes as shown, or create your own designs. Add red sugar and candy hearts.

Planning Tip: Decorated cakes can be stored airtight in a single layer at cool room temperature up to 1 week or frozen up to 3 months. Thaw uncovered at room temperature.

Salmon Jicama Salad

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:31:58 +0000

o JICAMA SALAD:
o 1/2 teaspoon salt
o 1 cup jicama, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
o 1 cup mango, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
o 3 scallions, chopped
o 1 tablespoon grated ginger
o 2 tablespoon olive oil
o 1 small red onion, sliced thin
o juice from 2 limes
o 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
o 1 tablespoon mint, chopped
o SALMON:
o 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
o 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
o 1/8 teaspoon salt
o fresh ground pepper
o 2 tablespoons olive oil
o 1 pound wild salmon, skin on with pin bones removed

Directions

To make jicama salad, mix all ingredients in a bowl.

For salmon, heat a skillet over medium heat. Season salmon with pepper, salt, paprika and ginger powder. Add olive oil to the pan and sear fish skin side down on medium heat about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and flip the salmon. Let salmon sit in the skillet about a minute. Cut into 2 ounce pieces. Serve on top of the salad.

- JICAMA SALAD:
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup jicama, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1 cup mango, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small red onion, sliced thin
- juice from 2 limes
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
- 1 tablespoon mint, chopped
- SALMON:
- 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- fresh ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound wild salmon, skin on with pin bones removed

Directions

To make jicama salad, mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Foods for Healthy Hearts

admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:36:40 +0000

Raisins
You might think that because raisins are sweet and sticky, they’re not good for your oral health. But research has shown that antioxidants in raisins fight the growth of a type of bacteria that can cause inflammation and gum disease.
Green tea
Scientists reported in 2009 that Japanese men who drank a daily cup of green tea significantly lowered their risk of developing gum disease — the more the tea, the lower the risk. The researchers believe antioxidants called catechins in green tea are the key. Catechins hamper the body’s inflammatory response to the bacteria that cause gum disease.
Whole grains
A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that men who ate four or more servings of whole grains a day reduced their risk of periodontal disease by 23 percent. Compared to refined carbohydrates (white bread, white rice), whole grains (oatmeal, brown rice) are digested more slowly, causing a steadier rise in blood glucose, says study author Anwar Merchant, D.M.D., Sc.D., an epidemiologist at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Avoiding spikes in blood sugar tempers the body’s production of inflammatory proteins — and lowers the risk of both gum and heart disease.

Lemon Cake

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:27:16 +0000

o 11/3 cups (2 sticks plus 51/3 Tbsp) butter, softened
o 11/3 cups granulated sugar
o 2 Tbsp finely grated lemon peel
o 2 tsp baking powder
o 3/4 tsp salt
o 4 large eggs, at room temperature
o 1/3 cup lemon juice
o 2 tsp vanilla extract
o 13/4 cups all-purpose flour
o Frosting
o 3/4 cup (11/2 sticks) butter, softened
o 6 Tbsp reduced-fat sour cream
o 1 cup s) plus 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
o 1 tsp vanilla extract
o bag s, 1 decorating bag fitted with a large star tip and sliced natural (with skin) almonds

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease two 8- or 9-in. round cake pans and line bottoms with rounds of wax paper; grease paper.

Beat butter, sugar, lemon peel, baking powder and salt in a large bowl with mixer on high speed 2 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla until well blended (mixture will look curdled). Reduce speed to low; beat in flour just until blended. Spread batter in prepared pans.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges, invert cakes on rack and remove wax paper; cool completely.

Frosting: Beat ingredients in a large bowl with mixer on low speed until blended. Increase speed to high; beat 2 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.

Spoon 1/4 cup frosting into a plastic bag; set aside. Using food color, tint 1/3 cup frosting light orange; spoon 1 tsp into the other plastic bag and scrape the rest into the decorating bag. Set bags aside.

To assemble: Place 1 cake layer on serving plate. Spread top with 2/3 cup frosting. Top with remaining layer, bottom side up. Spread top and sides with remaining frosting.

Snip tip off corner of bag with plain frosting and pipe lines of frosting on top of cake and dots around base as shown (see larger photo, pages 118-–119). Using decorating bag, pipe rosettes on top and sides, then pipe a dot of plain frosting in center of each. Insert almonds in frosting to simulate butterflies. Snip tip off corner of bag with orange frosting and pipe a body down middle of each butterfly.